--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No matter where its seed fell, it made a…" description: "\"No matter where its seed fell, it made a tree which struggled to reach the sky. It grew in boarded-up lots and out of neglected rubbish heaps, and it w..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/betty-smith-1012_cement_no-matter-where-its-seed-fell-it-made-a_1740237.png" --- # No matter where its seed fell, it made a tree which… ![“No matter where its seed fell, it made a tree which struggled to reach the sky. It grew in boarded-up lots and out of neglected rubbish heaps, and it was the only tree that grew out of cement. It grew lushly, but only in the tenements districts… That was the kind of tree it was. It liked poor…” quote by Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/betty-smith-1012_cement_no-matter-where-its-seed-fell-it-made-a_1740237.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/betty-smith-1012_cement_no-matter-where-its-seed-fell-it-made-a_1740237.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb9/betty-smith-1012_cement_no-matter-where-its-seed-fell-it-made-a_1740237.png) > “No matter where its seed fell, it made a tree which struggled to reach the sky. It grew in boarded-up lots and out of neglected rubbish heaps, and it was the only tree that grew out of cement. It grew lushly, but only in the tenements districts… That was the kind of tree it was. It liked poor people.” [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A resilient tree thrives in harsh, neglected environments, symbolizing how marginalized people can flourish despite adversity. **In simple terms:** A tree grows strong in tough places, helping the poor. Key Takeaway Support and nurture the overlooked. Themes resilience poverty urban life growth Mood hopeful reflective Type inspirational social commentary When to use this quote - urban renewal - community gardening - social work - housing policy Key Concepts social ecology human dignity adaptation Questions to Reflect On - How can we create more spaces for growth in underserved areas? - What does “liking poor people” imply about solidarity? A Different Perspective Not all growth is visible; systemic barriers can still limit potential. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cement/) [Flower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flower/) [Grew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grew/) [Grew Cement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grew-cement-1513914/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Kind Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind-tree-1513913/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Neglected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neglected/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor/) [Poor people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor-people/) [Rubbish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rubbish/) [Sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sky/) [Tenements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tenements/) [Tree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree/) [Tree Grew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree-grew-1513910/) [Tree Liked](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree-liked-1513911/) [Tree Struggled](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tree-struggled-1513912/) [Trees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trees/) ## Related quotes > [You took a walk on a Sunday afternoon and came to a nice neighborhood, very refined. You saw a small one of these trees…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/you-took-a-walk-on-a-sunday-afternoon-and-came-to-a-nice-neighborhood/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“The one tree in Francie’s yard was neither a pine nor a hemlock. It had pointed leaves which grew along green switches which radiated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/the-one-tree-in-francie-s-yard-was-neither-a-pine-nor-a-hemlock-it/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [An oak tree and a rosebush grew, Young and green together, Talking the talk of growing things- Wind and water and weather. And while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shel-silverstein/an-oak-tree-and-a-rosebush-grew-young-and-green-together-talking-the/) [Shel Silverstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shel-silverstein/) > [From seed to tree I grew so tall, through wind and rain I could not fall. But now my branches suffer and my leaves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-beach-boys/from-seed-to-tree-i-grew-so-tall-through-wind-and-rain-i-could-not/) [The Beach Boys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-beach-boys/) > [I knew the tree when it grew, and the tree is now gone. The farmers cut it up, and it's become firewood. And there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-goldsworthy/i-knew-the-tree-when-it-grew-and-the-tree-is-now-gone-the-farmers-cut/) [Andy Goldsworthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-goldsworthy/) > [“Paco had a way with plants…Sara believed that whenever he walked under a tree it grew a new branch to shade him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-doerr/paco-had-a-way-with-plants-sara-believed-that-whenever-he-walked/) [Harriet Doerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-doerr/) > [“We planted a tree and it grew up. And so did we.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-muldrow/we-planted-a-tree-and-it-grew-up-and-so-did-we/) [Diane Muldrow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-muldrow/) > [“When she turned back around, the looming tree grew larger against the dusky sky, like a vicious serpent reaching out its tentacles to grab…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-b-thomas/when-she-turned-back-around-the-looming-tree-grew-larger-against-the/) [Lisa B. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-b-thomas/) > [“Tina knew she could have taken the man a tree that grew its own money and he would say, ‘Not much call for money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-trope/tina-knew-she-could-have-taken-the-man-a-tree-that-grew-its-own-money/) [Nicole Trope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-trope/) > [It's the anarchy of poverty delights me, the old yellow wooden house indented among the new brick tenements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-carlos-williams/it-s-the-anarchy-of-poverty-delights-me-the-old-yellow-wooden-house/) [William Carlos Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-carlos-williams/) > [Typography must be as beautiful as a forest, not like the concrete jungle of the tenements It gives distance between the trees, the room…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-frutiger/typography-must-be-as-beautiful-as-a-forest-not-like-the-concrete/) [Adrian Frutiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-frutiger/) > [In the house in Beverly Hills where our four children grew up, living conditions were a few thousand times improved over the old tenement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harpo-marx/in-the-house-in-beverly-hills-where-our-four-children-grew-up-living/) [Harpo Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harpo-marx/) > [I was brought up in a tenement house in a working district. We didn't even have a bathroom! We had a gaslight in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lennox/i-was-brought-up-in-a-tenement-house-in-a-working-district-we-didn-t/) [Annie Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lennox/) > [I was saying as a joke the other day that I love film editing, I know how to cut a picture, I think I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/i-was-saying-as-a-joke-the-other-day-that-i-love-film-editing-i-know/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [As a poodle may have his hair cut long or his hair cut short, as he may be trimmed with pink ribbons or with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-de-leon/as-a-poodle-may-have-his-hair-cut-long-or-his-hair-cut-short-as-he/) [Daniel De Leon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-de-leon/) ## More by Betty Smith > [“Yes, when I get big and have my own home, no plush chairs and lace curtains for me. And no rubber plants. I'll have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/yes-when-i-get-big-and-have-my-own-home-no-plush-chairs-and-lace/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Several times that day, the name or thought of Papa had come up. And each time, Francie had felt a flash of tenderness instead…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/several-times-that-day-the-name-or-thought-of-papa-had-come-up-and/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [As long as one can suffer, one is living…live and suffer until life is gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/as-long-as-one-can-suffer-one-is-living-live-and-suffer-until-life-is/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Sissy told them they were way behind the times; that midwives were things of the past. Besides, she informed them proudly, she had no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/sissy-told-them-they-were-way-behind-the-times-that-midwives-were/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Why, Mrs McGarrity's all right. Mr McGarrity's all right, too. Only I guess they aren't all right to each other.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/why-mrs-mcgarrity-s-all-right-mr-mcgarrity-s-all-right-too-only-i/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“I drink because I don't stand a chance and I know it. I couldn't drive a truck and I couldn't get on the cops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/i-drink-because-i-don-t-stand-a-chance-and-i-know-it-i-couldn-t-drive/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Pipe dreams, he thought to himself, even while he was telling her about his dream winnings. But oh, how wonderful, he thought, if everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/pipe-dreams-he-thought-to-himself-even-while-he-was-telling-her-about/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Who wants to die? Everything struggles to live. Look at that tree growing up there out of that grating. It gets no sun, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/who-wants-to-die-everything-struggles-to-live-look-at-that-tree/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [It takes a lot of doing to die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/it-takes-a-lot-of-doing-to-die/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“She sat in the sunshine watching the life on the street and guarding within herself, her own mystery of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/she-sat-in-the-sunshine-watching-the-life-on-the-street-and-guarding/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [...the reading, the observing, the living from day to day. It was something that had been born into her and her only - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/the-reading-the-observing-the-living-from-day-to-day-it-was-something/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [People always think that happiness is a faraway thing … something complicated and hard to get. Yet, what little things can make it up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/people-always-think-that-happiness-is-a-faraway-thing-something/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“Hildy O’Dair is old for her age,” she thought. “It’s like powder was sprinkled on her yellow hair. But she’s not much older than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/hildy-o-dair-is-old-for-her-age-she-thought-it-s-like-powder-was/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“One day they’re babies in buggies and the next day they’re in here taking picks. Kids grow up quick in this neighborhood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/one-day-they-re-babies-in-buggies-and-the-next-day-they-re-in-here/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) > [“If she never had any lovers, she kicks herself around when the change comes, thinking of all the fun she could have had, didn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-smith/if-she-never-had-any-lovers-she-kicks-herself-around-when-the-change/) [Betty Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) [Explore all 306 Betty Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-smith/) ## More Cement quotes > [The discussing the characters and foibles of common friends is a great sweetness and cement of friendship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/the-discussing-the-characters-and-foibles-of-common-friends-is-a/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [Obedience is the psychological mechanism that links individual action to political purpose. It is the dispositional cement that binds men to systems of authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-milgram/obedience-is-the-psychological-mechanism-that-links-individual-action/) [Stanley Milgram](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-milgram/) > [A man who builds his own pedestal had better use strong cement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/a-man-who-builds-his-own-pedestal-had-better-use-strong-cement/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) > [You have those walls up all around you...Come a day you gonna want to tear them down brick by brick and gonna find that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacqueline-woodson/you-have-those-walls-up-all-around-you-come-a-day-you-gonna-want-to/) [Jacqueline Woodson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacqueline-woodson/) > [Effective communication is built on the cement of trust. And trust is based on trustworthiness, not politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-covey/effective-communication-is-built-on-the-cement-of-trust-and-trust-is/) [Stephen Covey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-covey/) > [“Love is the only cement that can hold this world together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/osunsakin-adewale/love-is-the-only-cement-that-can-hold-this-world-together/) [Osunsakin Adewale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/osunsakin-adewale/) > [The first year of marriage is like wet cement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wolgemuth/the-first-year-of-marriage-is-like-wet-cement/) [Robert Wolgemuth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wolgemuth/) > [I still haven't found the humor in getting hit by a cement truck. My knees still hurt when I think about it, so no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-devine/i-still-haven-t-found-the-humor-in-getting-hit-by-a-cement-truck-my/) [Adam DeVine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-devine/) > [With Parkinson's, it's like you're in the middle of the street and you're stuck there in cement shoes and you know a bus is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-j-fox/with-parkinson-s-it-s-like-you-re-in-the-middle-of-the-street-and-you/) [Michael J. Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-j-fox/) > [Data isn't information, any more than fifty tons of cement is a skyscraper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifford-stoll/data-isn-t-information-any-more-than-fifty-tons-of-cement-is-a/) [Clifford Stoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifford-stoll/) > [Emotional abuse is like being continuously kicked in the shins. It can be worse than getting one punch in the face, and it cements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-banjo/emotional-abuse-is-like-being-continuously-kicked-in-the-shins-it-can/) [Ashley Banjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-banjo/) > [The problem with guilt is that it cements you to the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-leman/the-problem-with-guilt-is-that-it-cements-you-to-the-past/) [Kevin Leman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-leman/) > [When I walk down the street in New York, I swear to God, the building constructor, the guy pounding cement and what not, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/when-i-walk-down-the-street-in-new-york-i-swear-to-god-the-building/) [Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/) > [A cement mixer collided with a prison van on the Kingston Pass. Motorists are asked to be on the lookout for 16 hardened criminals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronnie-corbett/a-cement-mixer-collided-with-a-prison-van-on-the-kingston-pass/) [Ronnie Corbett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronnie-corbett/) > [Friendship! Mysterious cement of the soul, Sweet'ner of life, and solder of society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-blair/friendship-mysterious-cement-of-the-soul-sweet-ner-of-life-and-solder/) [Robert Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-blair/) [Browse all 194 Cement quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cement/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "No matter where its seed fell, it made a tree which struggled to reach the sky. It grew in boarded-up lots and out of neglected rubbish heaps, and it was the only tree that grew out of cement. It grew lushly, but only in the tenements districts… That was the kind of tree it was. 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